Privacy policy
How playdar (playdar.ae) collects, uses and protects personal data. Last updated 7 October 2026.
This policy is written to comply with the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, the “PDPL”) and its executive regulations. playdar is a free directory of sports academies, clubs, gyms, studios, courts and private coaches in the United Arab Emirates. It is operated from the UAE; the operator named in the footer is the data controller. Contact: [email protected].
1. What we collect and why
We collect as little as the site needs. The table below lists each situation, the data, why we use it and our legal basis under the PDPL.
| When | Data | Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| You browse the site | Standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages requested, time) kept for a short period | Security, rate limiting, keeping the site running | Legitimate interest (art. 4(1)(f)) |
| You use “Near me” | Your device location | Showing distances and nearest places. It stays in your browser for up to 30 minutes and is never sent to our server | Your consent, given through your browser's location prompt |
| You suggest a listing, a fix or an event | Your name (optional), phone or email, your role and message | So we can check the submission with you before it goes live. Only admins see it; it is never shown publicly | Consent, and our legitimate interest in accurate listings |
| You leave a review | Your first name and grade or year, your rating and text | Published after an admin approves it. Only your first name is shown | Consent |
| You claim a page as an owner or coach | Your name, role, WhatsApp number, email (optional), message and the verification code | Verifying that you run the listed place and giving you a private link to manage it | Performance of the free listing service you asked for (art. 4(1)(b)) |
| You manage a claimed page | The details, events and photos you add; counts of views, calls, WhatsApp taps and direction taps on your page | Running your listing and showing you how it performs. Location metadata is stripped from photos | Performance of the listing service |
| You are listed | Business contact details (name, venue, phone, WhatsApp, email, website, social links, fees, timings) compiled from public sources or submitted to us | Helping players and parents find and contact academies and coaches | Legitimate interest in a public directory of businesses and professional services. Private coaches are listed by area only, never a home address |
| Admins sign in | Email, a hashed password, a session cookie | Running the admin dashboard | Contract / legitimate interest |
We do not sell personal data, build advertising profiles or share visitor data with advertisers. We do not require an account to use the site.
2. Cookies and local storage
The public site sets no tracking cookies. It keeps a few values in your browser only: your location (session storage, 30 minutes), whether we have already asked for it, and, for owners, the private manage token for the current tab. Admins receive a sign-in cookie (HttpOnly, SameSite=Strict). If we switch on analytics (Google Analytics or GoatCounter), it is set in our configuration and this section will name it; the owner manage link is never sent to analytics.
3. Who processes data for us
The site runs on servers in Frankfurt, Germany (DigitalOcean App Platform) with its database in Frankfurt (Supabase). Admin alerts about new submissions are sent through ntfy.sh and, if enabled, email through Resend; alerts carry only the listing or event name, never your contact details. Maps are loaded from OpenStreetMap tile servers, which receive your IP address when map tiles load. These providers act on our instructions as processors.
Because these providers are outside the UAE, personal data is transferred abroad. We rely on PDPL article 23: the transfer is necessary to perform the service you asked for, the providers are bound by contracts with appropriate safeguards, and the amount of personal data involved is minimal.
4. How long we keep data
- Submission contact details: until the listing, fix or event has been checked and published or rejected, then deleted within 90 days.
- Reviews: while the listing is live, or until you ask us to remove yours.
- Claim records and owner links: while the page is managed by its owner; a rejected or revoked claim is kept for 30 days for dispute handling.
- Owner stats: daily counts per listing (views and contact taps), with nothing about individual visitors, kept while the page is live so owners can look back as far as they like.
- Server logs: up to 30 days.
5. Children
Many visitors are students and their parents. The site does not create accounts for anyone and asks children for nothing beyond a first name and grade if they choose to leave a review, which a parent may do on their behalf. Reviews never show surnames. If you believe a child has given us more than that, email us and we will delete it. Parents: for under-18s, we recommend visiting any academy first and training with private coaches only at a public venue or with a parent nearby.
6. Your rights
Under the PDPL you can ask us to: tell you what personal data we hold about you (access); correct it; delete it; restrict or object to how we use it; receive a copy in a portable form; and withdraw consent at any time, which does not affect what was done before. Owners of listed places and coaches can also ask for a listing to be corrected or removed. Email [email protected] or use the “Tell us” form; we answer within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the UAE Data Office (the federal data protection authority).
7. Security
All traffic is encrypted (HTTPS with HSTS). Admin passwords are stored as scrypt hashes. Submitted contact details are never returned by the public site or its API. Photos are resized in your browser and stripped of location and camera metadata on the server. Submissions are rate limited. Access to the admin dashboard is limited to named admins.
8. Changes
We will post any change to this policy here with a new date. Material changes to how we use data will be announced on the site before they take effect.
9. Contact
Data controller: playdar, United Arab Emirates. Email: [email protected].